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Just want to throw a big warning out there: I cannot stress this enough, please please please treat all associates with respect and DO NOT get mad at associates over enforcing the rules! I'm saying this because yesterday, one of my coworkers at carousel who is a minor was berated to the point where she was being recorded by the person berating her over trying to enforce the mask policy. Luckily the other associate called security right away, but she was stunned to the point of tears. Thank you!

Indiana Beach has been pretty busy. Masks are just recommended there. Right now KI is between a rock and a hard place. I feel much better at KI though when it comes to COVID safety.

To all the people who complain about the "rattle" on the B&M coasters at the park, how do you tolerate Beast?

Ive seen one person hitting a vape on the way out on Thursday. Besides that, nothing. That’s with 3 visits. I’m actually shocked.

The park needs more total family rides. Ones that EVERYONE can ride. Right now this category includes the train, helicopters, antique cars, the very Boo Blasters and the Carrousel. Plus the Eiffel Tower attraction. Gone are the Turnpike, Skyway, Monorail, Rub-a-Dub, the Zodiac and 2nd Antique car ride. All were nice slow rides that everyone could ride ( unless fear of heights on a couple) There is a reason that Disney is so well attended. It’s because everyone can do a high number of the attractions together regardless of their age, ride tolerance, etc. Regional theme parks really miss out on a lot of potential customers by concentrating on thrill rides and kiddy rides. It was such a shame that Enchamted Voage was removed and also a shame that Phantom Theatre was removed. Both were top class dark rides. Boo Blasters is a 2D embarrassment.

Dad said we go next week

I'm not concerned about shade for those whose toxic fumes I have to inhale. They can suffer lol. Some of you were very put off with my earlier thoughts, and that is understood. It is a bit extreme. I think my problem with smokers has to do with the fact their activity impacts me more than any other vice. From having to inhale the smoke, to the littering with each butt. If smokers were considerate: 1) smoked where allowed, 2) tried to keep their smoke contained from non-smokers 3) AND this is a big one... properly disposed of their butts... it would be an entirely different story from me. I can only imagine the count of butts left on the ground from the entrance to the parking lot. Instead I'm left with the impression that most, not all, are lazy, inconsiderate, and for starting the habit in the first place I view them as weak minded.

Or it might just be time to face the reality that we're in a pandemic and lots of people either aren't in a financial position to visit amusement parks or put their families safety ahead of fun.

I think it’s all about expectations. When you ride The Beast, you expect to be beaten up a bit. When you ride a brand new B&M coaster, you expect it to be glossy smooth.

2019 was my favorite year ever with Leviathan. The added weight on the zero car was a huge improvement, it was hauling on all 3 of my visits last year. On our final visit in late august using the fastlane for platinum renewal we rode it 10 times that day, it was phenomenal. Can't wait to get full train Orion rides, hopefully next year.

Entering with our 1030 reservation and walking out at about 1020 after finishing on Mystic while the fireworks were going on, my wife and I did fine on the 4th. I bought 4 cooling neck gaiters off amazon, mission i think is the name. They were great, even with the 90 degree plus heat pretty much all day. We were pleased to see solid mask adhering overall, a couple of non compliant families when we were in the back park of Mystics queue mid-day. It was a great day, wear your mask!!

I was actually getting some pretty strong ejector on DB when I rode it a few times front row today. Plus, super smooth, you can definitely notice a difference between back row and front row. Plus it was an inside seat too which helps more.

Two little details I found that surprised me was a video tape at FoF's exit that is labeled "7th Portal" a very obscure thing to reference to that I doubt a lot of people remember, but I found it charming. The weird radio station has an interview with Major Joan (can't remember if her last name was Trampton or Trinton) and a mention of I believe the Vice President wanting to allow the public inside Area 18 to see the so called UFO for themselves. Also two extra things I found in FoF's queue before Orion that I'm unsure if people noticed is there's a paper with a picture of that alien console inside the UFO right before the stairs on the right hand side that tells you what it means; basically to conquer and reform the galaxy in their image. And on the bulletin board in the fast pass line before the stairs is some of the base personal IDs that expired at a certain date (I believe when FoF opened).

Personally, I'm hoping more parks relax reservation restrictions on weekdays. As it stands now, an impromptu visit to KI on a lightly crowded weekday is impossible if I have two future visits scheduled already.

For processing season passes, that can be done online this season. From the Welcoming You Back FAQ:

Banshee is definitely rougher than last year at haunt...could be temp...could be half full trains...could be a small earthquake that only happens when I ride Banshee...I dunno.

No. Diamondback is not even remotely rough.

https://www.wdrb.com/news/11-louisville-businesses-issued-corrective-orders-for-covid-19-violations-over-weekend/article_702bb81c-c060-11ea-a7ff-7b94e10aa4b8.html Kentucky Kingdom has been issued corrective orders for not enforcing Covid precautions and safety measures. The park insists the orders are unwarranted as they were not a part of reopening plan.

American school systems are completely dropping the ball re: masks. It's going to be really, really ugly if the incredibly limited data about kids not transmitting this thing very well turns out to be wrong. Not to mention my wife and father work in a local school system. Going to be a very stressful year for me.

Ohio Governor Press Conference just issued order that counties red or purple based on new map will have to wear face masks indoors. Currently 7 counties including Hamilton, Butler, Montgomery, Franklin , Cuyahoga, Huron, Trumbull. He said if these orders are still in effect when schools start, that the previous school guidelines issued last week that masks are not required for students in school takes precedence over this new order...so kids over 10 years old required to wear a mask in Kroger that they may be in for less than an hour, but when they are bunched into a crowded classroom for over 30 hours/week a face mask is not needed....

People have reported that despite signage indicating only 1 return ticket pp/pd, as long as tickets were available, they were handed out to everyone. I've also seen it reported that once it gets to be late afternoon, you don't need a ticket; you would just enter the que.

I could definitely see this. It would be about the same price as mystic since Zadra was about 15 million. We need a hybrid in our lineup. We could easily make a record breaker.

Season passholder preview has been shortened by two days - park is now open to all guests as of July 10. Fast passes are also now available for purchase. They've also added reservation times all the way to 6pm, and expanded capacity for every day.

Do you remember this poster? When this poster appeared at Kings Island, fans were starting thinking that Kings Island was going to build an R.M.C Son of Beast for the 2019 season. That however, didn't happen. But, maybe that wasn't for 2019. Maybe it's for sometime way into the future. In 2019, Kings Island announced that they would be removing The Vortex. Now fans are wondering when and what will replace it. I think it could be a ground-up r.m.c. I don't have a picture of what it could look like, but I have an idea for a ground-up r.m.c called GHOST MOUNTAIN! I even made up my own story for it. "Rivertown had grown from a tiny old town struggling to survive, to the busiest town in the West. People from all over came to Rivertown to see and do anything that the town had to offer. They enjoyed getting plashed and soaked on the town's White Water Canyon Expeditions. They heard many legends and tales, from the sighting of a giant creature near Beast Canyon, to a mysterious haunted lumber mill. The town was so popular, that it was decided that they would expand Rivertown. But, what they would add to the town, would end up being a big mistake. In 2025, Rivertown officially opened the Ghost Mountain Expeditions. Everything was going great, but there was something the mayor of Rivertown knew about the mountain that he didn't tell anyone. Ghost Mountain was in fact haunted. After the second train was loaded and left, they began loading train no.3. Once the train no.3 was finished loading, it departed from the station. But, when train no.3 came back, it was empty. Pretending like nothing happened, they began loading train no.3. But, one of the citizens was the brother of one of the passengers that was on train no.3 before him. When he got into his seat, once the train departed from the station, suddenly he heard a voice. It was his brother. He looks to his right, and sure enough, his brother is sitting right next to him. He goes to touch his brother's face, but his hand goes right through, almost as if his brother was a ghost. When he got back to the station, he went to one of the employees in panic. When runs towards the employee, he runs right through the employee as if he was a ghost himself. Legend has it that anyone goes inside the caves of this Mountain, come out as ghosts and spirits, walking along with the living as if they were alive. But that's the thing, they're not. They're actually dead!" That's all I have right now for a story for this ride idea. You would board a ride vehicle themed to a black western train. There will be two lift hills. The first hill would have a 90° drop. The drop of the second lift hill would be a combination of Twisted Timbers' first drop and Lighting Rod's first drop or something similar to that. The ride would take you through twists and turns, a few moments where the train would pass by another train, lots of dark tunnels and parts where the riders would be in complete pichblack darkness, and tons of elements and inversions similar to Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point and Twisted Timbers at Kings Dominion. To build this the way I imagine the ride to look like would require removing the Backlot Stunt Coaster. If there's anyone who is good at drawing rollercoaster concept art, or has NoLimits2 or Planet Coaster, could maybe come up with some design ideas for this ride using the details and information given. I do have NoLimits2, but I'm still learning how to use it. So until I'm able to successfully create something on NoLimits2, it'll be up to you guys to come up with a design for this ride.

I'm not the expert when it comes to water parks but I typically have a pretty good idea of their general purpose and how they can be most effective. Recently, I talked a lot on the other water park threads about updating certain aspects of our water park to make it more modern and profitable. There are other parks, however, that I question their placement and if its giving the respective park their money's worth. The two parks that come to mind are Kings Dominion and Canada's Wonderland where their water parks are placed inside the park itself instead of being put to the side near a separate entrance like our Soak City, Carowinds newer Carolina Harbor, Oceans of Fun, etc. If you look at Kings Dominion and Canada's Wonderland's map, you see both Soak City and Splash Works only have one entrance and they take up a lot of dry park real estate. I personally think its problematic when there's not a separate entrance who want to just enjoy the water park and have to walk all the way through the dry park. Would it have been a better business decision for these two parks to relocate their water parks to a different property? I'd argue no for Kings Dominion because many consider it a mid-tier CF park and relocating the water park wouldn't help out as much. Canada's Wonderland on the other hand wouldn't be a bad idea. I know the financial setback of relocating a water park would be astronomical, however I foresee some potential benefits. For one, Canada's Wonderland is landlocked so it would always benefit the park to free up some more space. Additionally both the dry and the wet park would be able to expand on their own without having to worry about affecting one another. Like I said this would be a lot of money but don't necessarily think its a horrible idea. Anyone else care to voice your thoughts?

The park is most likely going to struggle this year with record low attendance. Already we have no live shows, limited hours, no waterpark, limited ride capacity, and many events cancelled. People just don’t want to go during this time. I hope Cedar Fair does okay financially, but this is really concerning. Next season will also be lower attendance most likely due to some people cancelling their passes, people being in poor financial positions, and others still not feeling safe. Last season, in an earnings call, Cedar Fair mentioned Kings Island was around record attendance with roughly 3.5 guests. This year, we will be lucky to hit half a million guests. Next year, hopefully we can regain most of our attendance, but I think it will be years before we get back to 3.5 million guests.

How are lines today? Is Orion still doing special tickets? And if they are can you ride Orion more then once?

Appreciate the info, as soon as I told my dad, he immediately bought the season long FL lol

Season passholder preview has been shortened by two days - park is now open to all guests as of July 10. Fast passes also now available for purchase. They've also added reservation times all the way to 6pm, and expanded capacity for every day.

You can add Fast Lane to your Season Pass they just posted on Website

I wish they would have built a separate gate water park. There aren't enough slides/attractions for the crowds it gets (last year Breaker's Edge had a 3 hour posted wait on weekdays multiple times) and the wave pool actually has a queue set up with a time limit in the water because of the demand. Not counting kids slides, there are only 8 water slides. It also caused the park to remove their great rapids ride to add the lazy river and wave pool.

Another weird waterpark placement is Hershey Park, it’s kind of the middle of the park.

^What is sad is that they are season pass holders that should obviously know better. I guess they feel entitled or something. But yeah, if they are hiding off into the bushes, they clearly know better. Revoke a few passes and let that circulate on social media and people will shape up...except for the totally stupid By patronizing an establishment, you are agreeing to their policies. And if people cannot follow simple company policies and/or berate the employees, then the companies just shut down or reduce their offerings: https://www.businessinsider.com/anti-mask-customers-force-some-restaurants-re-close-dining-rooms-2020-7

I agree with you. I got a front row zen ride on El Toro last summer and it was painful.

How have the wait times been for non-Orion coasters been today? Going on Thursday and would love to be able to marathon the rest of the top 5 if possible.

Oh no doubt. I rode Flight of Fear alone one time and it was borderline unrideable it jack hammered me around so bad. I felt bad for the ops who have to ride it alone every morning.

Eating this baby is quite a ride.

I will say that Leviathan from 2019-onwards is much better than Leviathan 2012-2018. If the improvements weren't made (more weight to cars, mixed of soft/hard wheels = faster, more intense ride) and the second trim doesn't hit hard anymore, so now you get strong floater on that second hill, I would rank Orion over it. Because of these improvements though, I rank it higher than Orion. Levi definitely has more airtime and a much stronger first half, the second half is okay, although I do like the high speed turn over the main entrance and the second airtime hill actually does something now. With that said, I prefer the B&M Giga's over MF and I305, they're all world class rides, smooth, fun, reliable. I do think Levi is the most underrated of the 3 B&M Giga's, which makes sense since it is in Canada, which means a lot of coater enthusiasts don't travel there and rely on POV videos from years ago or morning test runs. People say it has pacing issues but it's slightly longer in length than Orion and has a shorter ride length, which means no pacing issues lol. Anyways, Orion is a great ride. Fury and Levi are in my top 10, Orion is probs top 15? Outside the drop, it has 3 standout moments with the airtime hills and the cool banked turn (even though you don't get airtime on it). Levi has 5 (first half + second airtime hill) and Fury is... Fury. Nonetheless, still a world class ride. And if people trash on it and legitimately hate on it, they're jealous, salty or hardcore Intamin fanboys who compare B&M to a middle aged man.

Finally had time to write up my thoughts. Have a read if you want! I got to ride Orion 4 times on the 4th. Here are my thoughts: Theming: As many have stated before me, the theme of the whole area and Orion specifically is fantastic. I hope Cedar Fair and Kings Island specifically, continue to move into this direction. The space theme is fantastic and I was lucky enough to see the area at night, as I went on the one day the park was open until 10. Gosh! It is cool at night. It’s the first time I have wanted to just stand and watch instead of doing something else... that is saying something. I was originally disappointed by the lack of a large plaza sign like Banshee, but I think I have settled on the idea that I like the elevated area giving you a fantastic view of the coaster more. This is the only spot in the park where the station and theme are front and center and it’s fantastic. The theming in the line is solid, but it really gets good when you get into the pre-show hut. There is so much detail and cool things to look at in there. I won’t spoil it too much but I was definitely impressed. The station is about what you’d expect for a hangar theme but I actually thought it was nice. The hanging flags are cool and it feels fun in there. I also like the the line is blocked from seeing into the station until the very end. It’s a cool little thing that adds to the anticipation. Also, there are fans in there!!! The ride: let me preface this by saying that I am going to go through each element and my thoughts apply generally to any row in the train unless otherwise mentioned. I got 4 rides, rows: 7, 4, 2, 5. Lift Hill: You get some nice views on the way up and man do you really book it to the top. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were going 16mph up that hill. You slow a little at the top before dropping but I don’t mind as the back row would get like -2 Gs if it didn’t slow down. Side note: the lift motor is really loud when the chain is moving at top speed. Not really a positive or negative, just a note. The Drop: Hands down the best drop in the park and it’s up there with Fury for the best I have ever been on. The back row really gets some good whip over the top and throws you down. I didn’t get a ride in the very first row sadly but the second row is close to that. You don’t get ejected so much out of your seat but it is arguably as good as the back due to the sensation of falling lasting longer since you crest slower. I think I’d go back row of it was one or the other, but I see the appeal to both. Love the drop! The first element (a giant banked turn): I’m sorry, it’s just not a wave turn. You bank the same direction as you turn and therefore get pushed more into your seat than out of it. That said, sitting on the right side of the train will net you some really interesting air time. I felt like my body was experiencing normal air time while being sideways banked. Being pushed into the right side of my seat while floating was interesting and honestly super unique and fun. The closer you get to the left side of the train the less air time you will feel. It turns into more of a high banked speed turn which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially if you are on the left outside seats. Looking down from that high up while going that fast is really cool and I like it. Expect more air time towards the front of the train vs the back as well. It’s a solid element and while not my favorite on the ride, it is definitely fun. I don’t understand why people think every element must have air time. Yes, air time is awesome, but I like to enjoy a variety of elements on my rides. The turnaround: I liked this element. It’s nothing crazy, a pop of air in the front or not much in the back but you get really high up and don’t really lose much speed throughout the turn. Before you know it you are diving back low to the ground and pulling some good positive Gs. The speed hill: Ladies and gentleman... I give you the signature moment of the ride. Wow was I impressed! Watching the POV I was worried it would be slow and mild floated over the hill but boy am I so glad to be wrong. You don’t glide, you fly. What I would consider ejector air time turns into sustained strong floater throughout the entire hill. You absolutely fly over it and wow it’s fun. You will enjoy this hill no matter where you are in the train. Might get a little more fun on the left side of the train when you come out of the banking but it shouldn’t be very different. This might be my favorite coaster element in the park. And might be second only to SteVe’s large outer-bank on rides I have been on. 10/10 stuff here The floater hill: Let me tell you right now, people worry about trim breaks way too much. It’s there to get you over the hill at the right speed. And I really feel like it’s the right speed. I seemed to get mid tier to strong floater depending on the location in the train and I also felt like it was sustained longer than a typical hyper hill, could just be me though. Not a unique element but it was good no doubt. Helix: I’m not a helix fan. Never have been and I don’t think I ever will be. Generally, I find them to be taken too slow and to not do much for me. I don’t dislike this helix though. You get some very good positives throughout the whole thing with them being slightly weaker at the top then the low points. I also really like the shape of this helix compared to the normal ones. This is unique and non symmetrical and I like that. You won’t get anything crazy out of this element but it’s one of the better helixses I have been on. A mid tier element but I’ve definitely ridden worse Side-ways air-time hill 2: Fantastic moment! This is ejector air and boy is it fun. The only thing that could make this element better is if it was sustained until the ground. Definitely the sleeper element of the ride but right up there with one of my favorites. Break: You get a good pop of air going into the breaks (especially in the front of the train). This is better than no air time for sure. But be prepared to get slammed Flight of Fear style because boy do those breaks hit hard. You have a lot of speed going into the break run and if you are not careful, your head will know it. Overall thoughts on ride experience: This is a great ride. The pacing is fantastic, each element is unique and provides its own unique forces. Could the ride have been one or two elements longer? Of course. Did I want more? Sure. Did I feel let down? No. The ride time is similar to Mystic Timbers, which gets far less hate for being short than Orion. The pacing on both of those rides are great and they are aggressive until the end. Call me crazy but I don’t care that it isn’t longer. It’s fun how it is. Also, the length allows the lift hill to be really fast which is cool. Do I like it more than fury? Probably not? Levi? Never ridden so I don’t know. Millie? Definitely. I may be in the minority in that but half of Millennium is spent copying previous elements or gliding through boring tunnels. I would ride Orion every single time over it. The extra 15ish seconds do not make it better for me. This is a world class ride that deserves to be treated as such and I’m thrilled to have it at Kings Island. Extras: Is there a rattle!? I’m a little sadden to report this but yes, yes there is. The dark blue train is the smoothest IMO and the middle seats are definitely better than the outside but you will rattle a bit no matter what. I heard a while back that the park has issues with it because of the soil types in southwest Ohio. Not sure if that is true our not but considering all 3 of our B&M’s have a rattle I would venture to say it might be right. That or we are very unlucky. The rattle is bearable though so while it may be unfortunate, it doesn’t kill the experience for me. Lighting Package: HOLY MOLY THIS THING IS SO COOL. The views this ride and the lights it has are unreal. I wanted to stand in area 72 and watch, they were that good! Just bring these lights to Banshee and you’ll catch me having park withdrawals needing to get back. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. I will try to respond to them all! pics for fun:

We hear a lot about these masks don't protect you and are to prevent the spread and you are doing it to protect others. That is true, but it is also providing some level of protection to the wearer regardless of which face covering. Directly from the FDA website: If worn properly, a surgical mask is meant to help block large-particle droplets, splashes, sprays, or splatter that may contain germs (viruses and bacteria), keeping it from reaching your mouth and nose. Surgical masks may also help reduce exposure of your saliva and respiratory secretions to others. I find it interesting that the FDA states first that they protect you and then follow-up with it protects others, whereas all recent covid stuff is putting a "spin" on it that we are wearing masks to protect others and many will say they do not protect the wearer... I would think that if a mask can generally stop most of what is coming OUT from a 10mph sneeze, then certainly if you are wearing a mask it would have to provide some level of protection to the wearer as well from some random floating covid blob in the air getting IN...now what the level of protection is not known, but I will take my chances that a mask does provide me as a wearer some level of protection as well, along with good hygiene habits. A big issue is they probably cannot market and promote the masks as protecting the wearer that way because of the litigious society we live in - they cannot guarantee it will protect you, so they disclaimer it like the picture someone posted earlier. It is just like bullet-proof vests are not really bullet-proof. The reality is that they’re actually bullet resistant. The reality is that bullet resistant vests don’t protect the wearer from every threat. Nothing is bulletproof, not even a manhole cover. In extremely minute percentage of cases, a bullet can get through a vest that’s been rated to stop them. The bullet could have a serrated edge or something similar to it. So does that mean law enforcement personnel shouldn't wear these vests? No, because it still can provide some protection. But those vests will have disclaimers all over them. Same with face masks...

You obviously got to the display before this loon.

The guest experience with ride tickets is much better than waiting in a 2+ hour queue amid reduced capacity. On Saturday, most guests had a minimal wait when they showed up for their return time. We returned toward the end of our return timeslot and waited less than 10 minutes.

I agree with this. I was at the drink stand next to Dodem and they were having a problem with my pass and the drink plan. I still don't know all of what the poor girl was trying to tell me due to the mask, Plexiglas, and the midway noise. I feel bad for the employees who are doing their best to help us with all of those sound barriers in the way.

It's either everyone wears masks, or KI becomes a massive COVID hotspot and gets shut down again. If people want to go to the park, they have to wear a mask. I visited on July 1st and was there for 5 hours, I was just fine wearing a mask. The more you wear one, the more used to it you get.

I did edit on Phantom Theater layout and this is how's it go.

its bone jarring coming out of the hammerhead into the hill before the on ride photo.

Those Americans faced bullets, cannons, and probable death. All that's being asked of you is to wear a mask.

A Beast retracking might make it my favorite ride. I've never ridden it back row and I don't really intend to, but I'd rethink that with a retracking. Would be kind of interesting too if they made it 20 car millennium fliers.

Its probably out of this world I'll leave

The difference is that your diabetes / obesity has no impact on my experience. Smoking certainly does and with COVID I do not want to be breathing in your air particles from smoking / vaping.